On a recent college campus tour, we found ourselves in the locker room of one of their sports teams. One of my favorite takeaways from that campus visit was a mirror in that locker room, framed in colored sticky notes with positive mantras written on them by the teammates. Positive thoughts, motivating motto's, and encouraging ideas were handwritten in all different penmanship, and on all different colored sticky notes.  I read each one, and they were uplifting for sure, with phrases such as "Never quit!", and "Pain is temporary, but pride is forever" stuck neatly around the mirror's edge. I was hoping for at least one posting that might include a Bible verse, and as I read my second-to-last note: there it was .   One note out of thirty-some notes breathed a word of encouragement from God's Word , and I praised the Lord for that (one) player's boldness and her faith. A slacker will not plow in season, so at harvest he looks but finds nothing.  ~Prove...

I wasn't seeing eye-to-eye with one of our kids the other day. In truth, his words (and attitude) had exasperated me and I did not start an argument, but I wanted to! I wasn't exactly mad...but frustrated, and I began to have an excellent conversation with myself (in my head), concerning the many ways that I was right, and he was wrong. This (self-exalting) mind-speak led to some ideas of how I might proceed with him concerning this matter, and more specifically, what I should do to show him how I felt about it. Freeze. Has anyone else ever been in a similar ( What do they think they are doing? ) situation? ...Where we want to make a point , and more specifically, we want to make our point. Words like "discipline", "consequence" and even "justice" bumped around my frustrated heart as justification for how to handle how I might proceed. But then the Lord pressed His next-steps into my head and heart, and I will give you a hint: it was not at ...

Are we good at math?  Statistics?  Probability?  Reasoning? Here's today's question: What is the probability, and what are the odds that a tiny nation (about) the size of New Jersey...(for example, The United States is 450 times larger than New Jersey, and Russia is about 779 times larger than New Jersey)... ...What is the probability that a nation, (about) the size of New Jersey will become like  a cup (drink)  that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling ? Israel is about the size of New Jersey, and yet... Do we have any stats on a nation about the size of New Jersey becoming like  an immovable rock for all the nations.  On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations.   All who try to move it will injure themselves.  ~Zechariah 12:3 What are the odds (have we ever heard of such a thing) that  every (enemy)  horse (against the country the ...

We had a garage sale this week, and there are so many pieces involved with an event like that, and I wasn't ready.  The night before, I stood frozen and overwhelmed amongst (literally) countless piles of bagged clothing and goods of every sort in our garage.  Feeling (uncharacteristically) helpless and frozen, I looked to my husband and begged his help in where to start, and what to do.  Lovingly and with insight, he established a plan, and we got in motion and in the Spirit .   For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  ~2 Timothy 1:7 I was (unusually) overwhelmed initially, and I knew that was not  of God.  But as we prayed and prepped things...I knew He was here .   (Of course God is always here, but sometimes we miss Him, or we allow other things, or our emotions to supercede Him.)   When I awoke for the first morning of the garage sale after only four hours of sleep, somethin...

Churning ... Are we stirring/striving/stressing about something?  Churning ...Are we constantly thinking, plotting, lamenting, coveting, hurting about it...? "For as churning cream produces butter... ”  ~Proverbs 33:30   Our churning of self-pity produces self-entitlement, anger , wrath, and strife .    No more poor me's today: Just Jesus's way today. An angry person stirs up conflict,  and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.  ~Proverbs 29:22  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,  ( 20)  because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  ~James 1:19-20   Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,  for anger resides in the lap of fools.  ~Ecclesiastes 7:9    Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  ( 32)  Be kind and ...